The Antiques Store Grantham, which opened on Saturday, houses up to 70 dealers with two-thirds of the spaces taken by exhibitors who also stand at the Milfords’ antiques and collectors’ fairs.
Charlotte said: “We had been looking for an additional business and several of our stallholders had asked if we would look at opening a centre.
“We spent a lot of time searching for the right location and building and when the opportunity arose to have the converted malthouse on Union Street in Grantham, we knew it was the right place for us.
“We have had interest from Cornwall and even France and dealers selling furniture, out-of-print books, vintage textiles, jewellery and barometers are already signed up and we are looking for more to join us.
“The centre will be managed by Neil Raynor, formerly of the Northgate Auction Rooms in Newark, who has much local experience.”
The logo for The Antiques Store Grantham.
The opening of the Grantham centre, where the Milfords will also have a unit, has been timed to coincide with Arthur Swallow Fairs’ Antiques and Home Show at the Lincolnshire Showground on August 15-16 (35 miles away) and the International Antiques and Collectors’ Fair run by IACF Newark on August 18-19 (18 miles away).
The whole area is also thick with antique shops and centres, including Hemswell Antiques Centre at Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, Europe’s largest antiques centre with 375 dealers, and high on trade and collectors’ lists, both from the UK and overseas.
Grantham is a busy market town with a long history – it wasthe birthplace of Sir Isaac Newton and the UK’s first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.
The Milfords, who run antiques and collectors’ fairs at 10 venues across the Midlands and East Anglia, plan to roll out The Antiques Store across a few more towns with the town name attached to the title, which is an interesting brand concept.
Field Dog Fairs’ next antiques and collectors’ fair is at the Magnus Sports Hall in Newark on Sunday, August 14.
